Sehr Guten German Hefeweizen, Berliner Weisse, and Maibock Hit Taps

Arbeiter Brocken Bock • Photo via Arbeiter Brewing Company

Welcome to Beer Dabbler’s Freshies, our weekly rundown on the newest beers hitting the store shelves and taproom coolers in Minnesota from your favorite local and national breweries. 

Three words to sum up 50+ new beers that are on draft, in cans, and in bottles this week? Refreshing, sweet, and tart.

Ranging from fruited kettle sours to traditional hefeweizen and Maibock, the taps are flowing with light, bubbly, and often balanced flavors as the sun finally breaks through the rainy April clouds.

And that seasonal change isn’t just reflected on the tap handles and label stickers. Breweries such as FINNEGANS, Lakes & Legends, and Utepils are hosting onsite events to celebrate. Nearby, Modist is hosting their own more reserved celebration of their fifth anniversary, with several cellar beers making limited appearances.

Each week, Beer Dabbler highlights the five most tantalizing new beers we’re most excited to try.

Back Channel Blue Robbin Baker – A pastry stout with coffee, cacao, and biscotti. Available exclusively in the newly released Dabbler in a Box – Season 7, it has rich, warm, chocolate flavors with an earthy bitterness for balance.

Eagle Park Tropical Smoothie Seltzer – Made with mango, pineapple, and passionfruit, this 5% ABV 16-ounce seltzer is available in Wisconsin, but the only way to get it in Minnesota is via the new Dabbler in a Box – Season 7 variety pack.

Falling Knife Reverse Centaur – A very limited beer and batch #100 from the brewery. It is an 11% ABV imperial gelato-style stout with pistachio and coconut flavors. On tap and or by takeout.

Inbound Petal Pounder – On tap and in Crowlers now, this is a tart, floral and easy drinking mango and hibiscus saison. Expect cranberry-like flavors with a dry and refreshing finish. 5.5% ABV, 20 IBU. Four-packs of cans are coming to liquor stores in early May.

Tallgrass Cider Scratch & Tangle Raspberry Cider – A sweet and tart cider with apple-forward flavors and a floral and fruity raspberry finish, the cidery says. 6.1% ABV.

New beers available this week

10K Brewing

• Blackberry Sour – A tart blueberry ale. 3.5% ABV.
• Pineapple Milkshake IPA – 7% ABV

608 Brewing Company

• Citranado: Supercell – A triple IPA version of Citranado flagship HIP, this variant is made with 100% Citra hops and has big flavors of pineapple, nectar, cantaloupe, mango, and more. 10.5% ABV.
• Jolly Shocker Pops: Watermelon – This candy sour is “Tart, sweet, and loaded with watermelon candy flavor,” 608 says. 6.5% ABV.

Able Seedhouse + Brewery

• Cryosaurus Rex – A new dry-hopped double IPA made with 8 different hop varieties.

Alloy Brewing Company

• Pil$ to Pay – A German-style Pilsner lager that’s gold in color with a malty sweetness. 4.9% ABV, 31 IBU.

Arbeiter Brewing

• Brocken Bock – A new Maibock lager brewed in collaboration with Witch Hunt MPLS. “Brocken Bock is a decocted, malt-forward German lager using paler Munich and Vienna malts, and has a gorgeous light golden-to-dark-yellow color,” the brewery says, with notes of caramel, bread, and grain huskiness. A portion of the proceeds benefits Witch Hunt, who will be on-site tonight from 4–8 pm. 6.9% ABV, 34 IBU.
• Lil Dipper – A new hazy pale ale made with the trending dip-hop method, the new beer features Solero hops for tropical, citrus, grassy, and herbal flavors. 5.4% ABV, 40 IBU.

Back Channel Brewing Company

• Blue Robbin Baker – Top Flight selection.
• Bladerade New England Pale Ale – This pale ale homage to Rollerblades is made with pineapple, passionfruit, and coconut cream. Available at Back Channel’s taproom. 6.0% ABV

Badger Hill Brewing Company

• Puppers Altbier – A dark and crisp altbier-style. Now on tap at the brewery.

Boom Island Brewing Company

• Tropical Layover – A new kettle sour with passion fruit and guava for a tart but refreshing character.

Brau Brothers Brewing Co.

• Juice Box Milkshake IPA – A milkshake IPA series available in three variants, each at 5.5% ABV, 20 IBU: Coconut, Pineapple, and Prickly Pear.
• Mrs. Whitney’s    – Coconut A 4.6% ABV, 45 IBU pale ale.

The Brewing Projekt   

• Much Strongest – A New England–style triple IPA with big and juicy hop-forward flavors from a blend of Citra, Mosaic, and Simcoe hops. 9.7% ABV. Available in Dabbler in a Box – Season 7.

Castle Danger Brewery

• Fast Turns – A taproom exclusive hefeweizen
• Summer Crush Summer Ale – Back on tap now and as well as 6- and 12-packs at liquor stores.
• The Last Farmhouse on the Left – A taproom exclusive dry-hopped saison.

Clutch Brewing Company

• Enjoy’A Sequoia – A juicy and also piney double dip-hopped West Coast-style IPA made with Sequoia hops. 6.3% ABV and exclusively sold in the new Dabbler in a Box.

Dangerous Man Brewing Co.   

• Space Queen – Expect a potent blend of dank, herbal, and zesty tropical flavors in this 10% ABV triple IPA.

Day Block Brewing

• Blue Note – A blueberry Berliner weisse sour ale.

Drastic Measures Brewing

• Paid in the Shade – Another Dabbler in a Box – Season 7 exclusive, this hazy IPA is made with Zamba and Citiva hops and pours at 6.7% ABV.

Eagle Park Brewing & Distilling

• Tropical Smoothie Seltzer – Top Flight selection.

Earth Rider Brewery

• Royal Bohemian Pilsner – A crisp and clean lager made with noble hops. 5.5% ABV, 36 IBU.

Excelsior Brewing Company

• Hemp Waves – Tapped last Tuesday, April 20, this danked-up take on Hop Waves IPA is available for a limited time. 6.2% ABV.
• Smooth Wake – “It’s a bright, refreshing cream ale, infused with bunches of strawberries and a touch of lactose. This truly tastes like strawberries and cream,” the brewery says. 5.3% ABV, 11 IBU.

Falling Knife Brewing Co.

• Dino Holiday – “This 6.8% piña colada hazy IPA is your ticket to a beachside cantina of fresh pineapple, coconut, and bright, beautiful Sabro hops,” Falling Knife says.

• Reverse Centaur – Top Flight selection.

Fat Pants Brewing Co.

• Blue Raspberry Seltzer – Now available.
• Happy Camper – Fat Pants’ s’mores stout was recently brewed and is nearly ready, the brewery says.
• Sangria Seltzer – Now available.
• Bajo – “Bajo is our session IPA. Perfect for the IPA lover in us all, this Citra hopped brew is easy to enjoy responsibly, with an aroma of sweet citrus, coming in at only 5.5% ABV,” the brewery says.

Fair State Brewing Cooperative   

• Flavor Pop Technology – A 6.6% ABV hazy IPA, “Flavor Pop Technology is bursting with some of the cleanest, purest tropical aromas we’ve ever produced in a beer. Pair that with our new favorite cool-fermentation protocol, and this batch is really killer. It hits liquor stores soon, but in the meantime, the taproom is the only place to score pours and Crowlers,” Fair State says.

FINNEGANS Brew Co.

After closing the taproom for much of the past year, FINNEGANS will celebrate a Grand Re-Opening on Saturday with pop-up shops, live music, and, of course, beer. Open 1–9 pm, the line-up includes:

• Bella Pilz – New to the taproom, this is an Italian-style Pilsner, just in time for sunny days.
• Blood Orange Pilsner – A dry Pilsner brewed with blood orange puree and notes of grapefruit and orange. 6.0% ABV, 35 IBU. It will be sold in liquor stores beginning in mid-May in the Picnic Fan Pack 12-pack variety pack.
• Kicked To The Herb – A pale ale with malted red and white wheat, Citra, Zeus, and Chinook hops — and another special ingredient: hemp seeds from MN Hemp Growers. Its flavor profile: “Slightly bitter and grassy on the nose and tongue. Pine and resin linger throughout,” FINNEGANS notes. 5.5% ABV, 45 IBU.
• Tile Factory – A Mosaic-hopped citrusy IPA with a touch of bitterness.
• Tipped Cow – A Belgian-style saison with dry and rustic qualities and notes of tangerine and peppercorn. 6.0% ABV, 35 IBU. Also to be sold in the Picnic Fan Pack.

Humble Forager

• Warming Hut – An imperial pecan pie pastry stout, “This Humble brew combines rich chocolate and caramel malts with mountains of roasted Georgia pecan, stacks of Ugandan vanilla beans, a dash of Korintje cinnamon, and drizzles of Wisconsin Amish maple syrup,” the brewery says. 12% ABV.

Inbound Brew Co.

• Petal Pounder – Top Flight selection.

Invictus Brewing Co.

• Alma Hard Seltzers – Invictus has its own brand of hard seltzers, on tap now with a berry mixed 6-pack of 12-ounce cans in the following flavors sold in stores: Black Cherry, Strawberry, Concord Grape.

Kinney Creek Brewery

• Med City – Kinney Creek’s line of hard seltzers is now sold in 16-ounce cans.

Lakes & Legends Brewing Company

Lakes & Legends has designated May 1 as 5-Weight Day, with five variants of their cream ale to be tapped in-house at the brewery:

• 5 Weight: Churro
• 5 Weight: Coffee
• 5 Weight: Gin
• 5 Weight: Marshmallow
• 5 Weight: Prickly Pear

Luce Line Brewing

• Eagle Mountain DIPA.– Flavors of ripe guava, peach, pear, and pineapple define this 8.5% ABV double IPA.
• Piedmont Pilsner – A crisp and refreshing German-style lager, back for another round.
• River Road Red – “This malty and slightly hoppy red ale is brewed with a blend of Munich, Abbey, and Rye malts to create a beer with notes of caramel, toffee, and baked bread,” the brewery says. 6% ABV.

Lupulin Brewing Company

• Maibock – A German-style maibock lager at 7.6% ABV, 35 IBU. On tap at the brewery now.
• Scars – A pale ale to help raise funds for The Scars foundation, “It’s malty with a solid bouquet of resinous cascade hops, a throwback to the good old days,” Lupulin says. 5.5% ABV, 35 IBU.

Mankato Brewery

• Pineapple Wheat – A newly available spring/summer seasonal.
• Tropic Luv – A newly available spring/summer seasonal.

Minnewaska House Brewing Co.

• No Neck Geno – Tapped mid-month, this oatmeal stout is smooth in body with notes of coffee and chocolate on the tongue the brewery says. 5% ABV, 23 IBU.

Modist Brewing Co.

• Barrel Aged Ice Cream Grin – Modist is releasing several big and popular beers in celebration of its fifth anniversary. This is a bourbon pecan, praline, and ice cream barleywine made in collaboration with Dangerous Man.
• Hypersolid – Available on Saturday at the brewery and in stores next week, this is a New England-style IPA with a blend of Citra, Strata, Columbus Cryo and Mosaic Cryo hops.
• Stave Robber – A collaboration with Barrel Theory, this 12.5% ABV monster is a bourbon barrel-aged imperial stout with pistachio, coconut, and vanilla.

OMNI Brewing Co.

• So Hot Right Now – Available at the brewery this is a Strata-focused New England–style IPA that also includes Citra and Mosaic. 6.4% ABV.

Pantown Brewing Company

• Things We Don’t Say IPA – A new charitable IPA brewed to raise funds and awareness for mental health issues.

Rogue Ales & Spirits

• Cotes du Rogue Sour Blonde with Fruit – This limited-edition sour blonde made with fruit is part of a foeder aged sour series. It offers a tart flavor with hints of oak, lemon, vanilla, and apricot. Available this month, the brewery previously announced.
• Raspberry Tartlandia – A gose with raspberry, coriander, and salt. 4.9% ABV.

Schell’s Brewery   

• Hefeweizen – It’s official springtime in Minnesota now.

Tallgrass Cider

• Scratch & Tangle Raspberry Cider – Top Flight selection.

Tin Whiskers Brewing Company

• Bit-O-Honey Blonde Ale – A Pearson’s candy-inspired blonde ale with honey and almond flavors in a 16-ounce tallboy can.
• Mike SMASH – A hazy IPA made with oats and Nelson Sauvin hops, which combine for flavors of granola, blueberries, muffins, and white wine, Tin Whiskers says.

Utepils Brewing

• Plaid Bikini Summer Wheat – This summer ale debuts on Saturday at Utepils’ unveiling of its Summer Beer Garden. It will be sold in cans, including in the Week-Ender Summer Pack alongside Helles, Tall Tails, and Pontoon Afternoon.
• Pontoon Afternoon Raspberry Kolsch – A new fruity Kolsch-style ale that debuts on Saturday and will also be sold in 4-packs/cans.

Waldmann Brewery

• Maibock – “Maibock is an unfiltered, deep golden, uber-malty German lager, brewed with floor-malted Czech Pils malts in a traditional decoction mash and balanced by a blend of noble, heritage and Hallertau Hersbrucker hops,” Waldmann explains. 6.3% ABV.

Wild Mind Ales

• Chrysalis – A light and fluffy-body foeder-aged IPA with lemon meringue, nectarine, and sugar cookie-like flavors, the brewery says. 6.5% ABV.

Wooden Hill Brewing Company

• Wonderfizz 2.0 – The latest Wonderfizz is a fruited sour with watermelon and dragon fruit at 5.6% ABV. “But don’t be fooled,” the brewery says. “Watermelon is still the champion of this sour ale, lending its sweet candied goodness to play off the tart acidity in the beer.” Also served in a pink lemonade shandy called Candy Crush.”

Beers just announced

Bad Weather Brewing Company

• Belgian Singel – Recently brewed, head brewer Andy Ruhland says, “It’s a Hallertau Mittelfrueh bomb of a beer. Thought we’d ‘Dip Hop’ it this time because that’s what the cool kids are doing. It smells fantastic!”

Blacklist Beer

• Peach Hazy – A New England–style IPA coming soon.

FINNEGANS Brew Co.

• Trails End Pale Ale – Available next week in the taproom, this beer is a West Coast–style pale ale. “A slight orange and copper color with notes of sweet malt and a bitter hop bite. The aroma is pineapple, pine, and grapefruit,” FINNEGANS says.
• Wild Berry Blender – To debut on May 13, this Barrels of Life series beer is an American wild ale aged in oak barrels on blood orange, wild plums, rhubarb, and blueberries. The brewery describes it as subtlety sour and mildly Bretty with mild fruit character and a sour bite. On draft and sold in 750-milliliter bottles mid-month.

Toppling Goliath Brewing Company

• Camp ShandyShore – A lemon shandy that taps in Minnesota and other states soon.

Have a new beer we should know about? Send the details to newbeer@beerdabbler.com for inclusion in Freshies.